Why Carrier Choice Matters

Did you know that the number one reason why people switched carriers in 2016 was to achieve better pricing? Switching carriers may seem daunting--but, at Pacejet, we've found that customers who expand their carrier choices save more money. In fact, they save 20-30%.

Here are some of the things your should consider when assessing your carrier options. While you're reading up, make sure to check out our limited time offer below.

Parcel

Many of our customers ship parcel. This means you probably have an intimate relationship with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. One of the biggest concerns of parcel shippers, according to Parcel Magazine¹, is that there's not enough competition in the parcel delivery market to keep pricing reasonable and service good. This is leading some to consider the values of regional shipping, and this is expected to take on an increased market share in the year ahead.

Another big development in parcel is Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP), which we just featured on the Pacejet blog. You may be familiar with Amazon Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA), but Seller Fulfilled Prime allows you to keep the inventory in-house and you get the advantages of marking your merchandise as prime.

Using Seller Fulfilled Prime can mean an increase in sales, with some brands already seeing a 20% increase in sales of items newly marked Amazon Prime after their SFP program launch. With this program just taking off, we are currently offering a free Amazon module now through the end of 2016. Let us know you're interested so that we can discuss how Amazon can grow your business.

Regional

Regional shippers typically can get a package between two points in one region—from New York to Boston, for example—faster than their national counterparts, and they are able to price shipments as much as 20% to 40% below the national shippers because of their lower costs.²

Because they operate in smaller market areas, the regionals can offer later pickup times for next-day delivery to more areas, compared with national carriers who often have to drive, then fly the packages through complicated hub networks.

In the Parcel Magazine 2016 Carrier Study, they found that about half of the readers had some level of interest in regional carriers. While most people are shipping only a small percentage with regional carriers, a big reason they choose them is due to cost.

Parcel wagers that "as e-commerce continues to grow (which means more residential deliveries and the corresponding UPS/ FedEx surcharges), the number of shippers utilizing regional carriers will rise dramatically."

Freight (LTL and 3PL)

Our customers who ship freight benefit from many LTL and 3PL carrier options available in Pacejet. While cost is a big concern for freight, you also have to worry about timing, as your goods are often sharing truck space with other companies' products.

This is why carrier selection is so important, so you have multiple options and can choose the best price and time frame for each shipment. You have your choice of integrated carriers that vary from your standard FedEx freight, to regional options like Pitt Ohio, to 3PL (third-party logistics) companies such as C.H. Robinson.

Each one has their benefits. Make sure you look at our carrier list and evaluate your options. Once you've activated your carriers in Pacejet, you'll have current information at your finger tips, which means you can make the best choice every time. Pacejet customers typically save 40-50% on labor due to increased efficiency in addition to the 20-30% on shipping costs.

And only Pacejet is a true cloud-based system with easy provisioning, automatic upgrades, plug-in carrier integrations, and more. Are you ready to learn how Pacejet can help your business? Contact us today.

Pacejet loves to uncover shipping trends and truths that help us improve customer operations, save money, and move businesses forward. That's why we believe in the science of shipping—because companies are ever-evolving and data, analytics, and flashes of brilliance can help you get where you want to go.